PORTLAND, Ore. – With some key results in big matchups around the state of Oregon, the RV Corban University Men's Basketball team (13-5, 9-3) regained control of the second overall spot in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) standings with an overwhelming 89-72 win over the Multnomah University Lions (11-8, 6-7) earlier tonight.
"Big win for us tonight, Multnomah has been really good at home, and it felt good to see our guys reestablish themselves defensively," stated Warriors' Head Coach Taylor Kelly. "We had our guys really step up offensively as well. Looking forward to seeing how our guys compete at Warner Pacific tomorrow."
The Warriors controlled the tip and immediately translated that into their play on the court, bouncing to an 18-11 lead before the Lions mounted their own run, as guard Zach Richardson hit a vital and-one layup in transition that gave Multnomah the momentum going into the first media timeout of the contest.
With an unorthodox offensive approach on the home team's side, the Warriors had to adapt to a barrage of three-pointers from well beyond the arc, combined with the Lions inside one-two punch in forwards Quentin Jones and Tyrese Taylor. However, the Navy and Gold persevered to find themselves comfortably in the driver's seat, led by senior guard Masie Mohammadi's and-one three-pointer that sent his teammate, senior forward James Carlson, to the line on an off-ball foul.
The Warriors handled the offensive rebound on a free throw miss from Carlson to earn a layup under the basket, and a quick steal from junior guard Collin Warmouth left him all alone on the perimeter to splash a three-point shot in front of the Lions' student section, leading to Corban's first double-digit lead of the night at 34-24.
A team that usually finds success on their home court, the Lions struggled to convert offensively while keeping the Warriors off the scoreboard, shooting just 39% in the first half while allowing a 57% conversion rate to the road team. Corban took advantage to hop out to a healthy 13-point lead prior to the first half horn, taking control of a weak free-throw shooting and three-point performance from Multnomah to lead 50-37 with 20 minutes to play.
Junior guard Taylor Anderson led the way for the Navy and Gold through the first half, connecting on six of his eight field goal attempts to score 13 points. Senior guard Mateo Esheik earned 11 points and five rebounds also for the Warriors thus far.
Meanwhile, Lions' Taylor dropped a team-high eight points and six rebounds thus far but struggled to convert in both the paint and at the free throw line to leave points off the board for Multnomah.
The offense didn't stop there for the Warriors, as they quickly established dominance on the opening play and ran that drive to an 8-0 run to take a 58-37 advantage. Multnomah scored on a jumper the very next possession, plus the free throw on a Corban foul to reduce the deficit to 18 points and forcing a Lions' timeout.
Ten points later for each sideline, and the Warriors were 13:35 away from a crucial road victory at Jim Skagen Court, leading 68-47 with no signs of slowing down. Three different Corban student-athletes were now in double-digits for scoring, led by Anderson and Esheik with 17 points apiece.
The Lions continued to hang around, not letting the Warriors get too comfortable with their lead on the road. Their lead high of 21 points quickly dwindled to 11 points following an and-one bucket from Multnomah guard Wallace Ungwiluk, putting the Navy and Gold into a much closer matchup than the first three-fourths of this contest provided.
The starting core returned to the floor to provide Corban with more than enough offense and lockdown defense to stretch this lead back to tie their largest lead of the night, as a tip-in plus the foul for Warmouth gave the Warriors an 87-66 score in their favor.
The Navy and Gold were able to coast their way from Warmouth's second chance effort to an 89-72 victory over the Lions, exactly what Warrior Nation was hoping to see after a home loss to the No. 1 College of Idaho Yotes.
The offense cooled down just ever so slightly in the second half for the Warriors, but it was still controlling enough to have Corban finish at 52.2% from the field, adding an 8-for-24 line from the three-point arc to convert on a third of their attempts. The Lions kept the scoring in the paint even throughout the first half, but the Warriors took control of the key in the final stretch to hold a 44-28 points in the paint margin.
Anderson finished the evening with a game-high 19 points, a new season-high mark for the junior who added a game-high six assists and four rebounds as well. Senior forward Darius Henderson bounced back in the second half to earn his sixth double-double of the season and his second-straight game with 15 points and 10 boards.
Escheik and Warmouth completed the quarter of Warriors to finish with double-digit point totals with 17 and 10, respectively, with each of them earning at least six rebounds apiece in less than 30 minutes of floor time.
Multnomah guard Neyland Block became the leading scorer for the home team in the second half, scoring 14 points on a 6-for-7 shooting performance. Jones finished with 10 points in the paint, while Taylor cooled down in the final stretch to finish with eight points and nine rebounds.
RV Corban Men's Basketball will look to earn a huge road win over Warner Pacific University (12-6, 9-4) tomorrow evening in an attempt to avenge their home loss to the Knights earlier this year in their first conference home game of the season.
Follow Corban Athletics:
Facebook l Twitter l Instagram l Snapchat l YouTube l Email
Download our App: iOS (iPhone/iPad) l Android
